Why You Should Consider Hiring a Search Engine Optimization Company
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a term that has grown in prevalence over the past decade as we transition to a primarily online world. If you own a business and want to build a successful online presence, you probably at least have an idea of what SEO is all about. Yet, the whole process of improving your search engine rankings to reach your potential customers can be totally overwhelming if it’s not your specialty. This is exactly why SEO companies are popping up everywhere to provide this much needed service.
So how do you decide if you should hire a search engine optimization company? And if you know you need to, how do you choose a company that will give you the best bang for your buck? As a chiropractic clinic, there are some unique factors to keep in mind to help you make the best choice and get an impressive return on your investment (which is ultimately what you want!).
What is Search Engine Optimization Anyways?
Just in case the term “SEO” makes your eyes glaze over and tune out, let’s take a moment for a quick review of what exactly it is. Thankfully, if you hire a high quality company you don’t need to know all the nitty gritty details of SEO. However, it can be helpful to at least understand what they are doing so that you can assess if the strategies they are proposing will work for you and your clinic or not.
The Basics of Search Engines
Search engine moguls like Google rely on content quality, traffic trends, and keyword search trends to determine what results they should show someone looking for an answer on the internet. You experience this complicated state of the art algorithm every time you hop on a search box and type in something you want to know or find online.
If you have a website, you can optimize your ability to land at the top of a Google search by developing a solid SEO strategy based around relevant keywords and high quality website and blog content. Getting to the top rankings is a long term strategy based on organic traffic when compared to other marketing strategies that require a higher initial cash investment and trending strategies. Thus, once you’ve found your niche and traffic source over time with an SEO strategy- the sky’s the limit.
How SEO Helps Chiropractic Websites
There are two primary strategies that SEO companies focus on when improving a website‘s visibility: local SEO and global SEO. For chiropractors, since most providers own a clinic in a physical location, local SEO should be the primary focus. This is what will help increase the clinic’s local visibility. An SEO strategy should help you get in the top results for common keywords like “chiropractors near me” or “chiropractors in [your specific location].” However, on top of that, you want to gain momentum with keywords that are specific to your unique chiropractic niche. If you work with a specific population or have a specialty, SEO can help you find very specific local customers that are looking for you.
Understandably, a local SEO strategy will most likely give you the best return on investment when getting started. However, you may also consider adding in a more global SEO strategy over time. If you offer online services or products in addition to your physical in-person treatment options at a clinic, this can help further boost your income and visibility as well. Or maybe you are also offering some telehealth services in this changing market. Again, it all comes down to a solid content marketing (aka blog articles) strategy.
What an SEO Company Can Offer You
Providing SEO services these days is an extremely lucrative market. Unfortunately, this has led to a big disparity in the quality of services from one company to the next. Thus, it’s important to find a company that can keep their promises and follow white hat practices to get your online presence to where you want it. Firstly, always be leery of a company making big promises in the first few months. SEO is not an overnight game and it will take time to see measurable changes. If a company is making big promises right out of the gate, they’re probably not being honest or are using some shady practices to get your website to the top (which can backfire if Google discovers it and penalizes you!).
Typical SEO Packages That You Will Encounter
Packages and prices for working with an SEO company can vary significantly, depending on your budget and time frame. On the simpler end of the spectrum, they can audit your website and give you personalized recommendations to work on independently. Or, if you want to go all in, they can offer all inclusive packages. Of course, a good SEO company should be able to personalize their packages to fit your needs. Below are a few of the offerings that a typical SEO company can offer.
- Ensure that your Google Business profile is complete and up to date for the best possible visibility when your clinic comes up in a search
- Website page optimization. Building and designing your website should be based on SEO too (not just blog articles). This usually means:
- Creating separate keyword rich pages for each of your top services
- Use of google maps on your location pages
- Specific pages for each location- if you have multiple clinics
- Choosing high quality images
- Making your website as local SEO friendly as possible
- A high quality website with up to date information, a clear call to action, fast loading time, and a design that keeps a potential client pursuing to your website
- Offer a monthly content marketing strategy, this usually includes:
- A minimum of one keyword rich article per month. Depending on your budget and goals, daily or weekly articles may be recommended too.
- In depth keyword research for each article to make sure it’s reaching the right audience and ranking for the appropriate topic (this does NOT include keyword stuffing- it means designing a high quality article around what customers are actually searching for and asking questions about).
- Monthly analytical reports to see what articles and pages are ranking. This helps you see what’s working and how to fine tune your strategy and marketing goals to maximize your results.
- Adjust your marketing strategy with the ever changing Google guidelines and algorithms. A strategy that works one month or year might not be relevant the next, so you want to work with someone that is keeping a pulse on the search engine landscape and making changes as needed.
Other Marketing Services to Consider
Many marketing companies offer SEO as just one of their services for your website. Thus, if you find a company that you really love you can probably get all of your marketing needs under one umbrella. This can be a plus if the company offers high quality services in more than one branch of marketing. For example, one company can potentially help you with email marketing, social media, and funnel building as well.
Why You Need an SEO Company that Specializes in Chiropractic
Content marketing packages at a low price or with big promises can be tempting, but finding a company that truly understands chiropractic should be your top priority. An SEO company that specializes in chiropractic care, or at a minimum medical care, will better understand the unique nuances needed for keywords, blog articles, website design and more. They will have a significantly better understanding of the market, be able to help you stand out in a sea of chiropractors, and attract high quality patients.
This is exactly what companies like MyChiroPractice can offer you. We work exclusively with chiropractic clinics and have yielded amazing results for our clients with offerings that range from website design to all inclusive blog article management.
Time to Invest in a Sound Marketing Strategy
Social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, and local marketing- it can all make your head spin. While it’s good to diversify, trying to do too much at once can also lead to poor results. It is usually better to focus on perfecting one marketing strategy at a time. The reason SEO is such a sound strategy is that it requires less initial money investment (but usually more time investment) and gives you lasting results once Google recognizes that you are an expert in your field.
To decide what strategy is best for you to focus your energy on first, it’s best to talk to an expert in chiropractic marketing like MyChiroPractice. Once we understand your needs, goals, preferences, and budget, we can work together to custom fit a plan that helps exponentially grow your business. These days it’s hard to have a thriving business of any type, even a brick and mortar business, without an online presence. Find an expert that can keep your company and website relevant while you focus on continuing to provide high quality medical care as a sought after chiropractor.